Sunday 5 November 2017

Mosaic Monday # 60 - vides greniers/empty attics

You might recall that we recently had a visit from our brother-in-law and nephew, they came across from the UK to help us clear out some attics and to work in the garden clearing and tidying ready for winter.
At the beginning of October BIL completed the '54321 Challenge'.

12 months 

5 marathons
4 half marathons
3 triathlons
2 duathlons
1 ultramarathon
zero beer - alcohol
and so far has raised £3690 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

When they arrived early Sunday evening, after driving all day, it was good to sit and enjoy a well earned beer and watch football on TV until dinner was ready.


Early next day the "boys" went to collect the rental van, and 20 large sacks of pine bark to distribute between the flower beds.
Next on my "honey do" list was to empty the loft over the garage of unwanted items and take it all to the recycling depot/ dechetterie.
That little chore took care of the rest of the afternoon.


Tuesday was spent emptying and cleaning an attic, the contents included two unwanted divan beds and a sofa.
With even more junk from the loft added to the load the van was full once more.
As the dechetterie isn't open on Tuesdays they spent the rest of the day cleaning the garage loft and raking leaves and conkers, again.
Wednesday morning soon came around and the next chore on my list was dismantling and clearing the builders scaffolding which we had been using as storage shelves in the garage (more junk).
The items we wanted to keep or donate to the charity shop got moved into the now clean and practically empty loft above.
No before photo of the loft because I was too ashamed to show it to you! Can you see those half empty paint tins stacked up so tidily on the shelving unit on the wall at the end? They didn't make it to the dechetterie this time but I live in hope.


Another two trips to the dechetterie in the afternoon and we were ready to call it "a job well done"!
We were so grateful for all their help and support, they certainly worked hard and achieved so much that would have been beyond this pair of oldies.

watching all the activity from her chair
was too much for Fleur
During dinner that evening BIL remarked that despite his aching legs and back he was already planning to come over again to work with us next October. Result!
Thursday morning, after an early breakfast, the two of them headed off to the Eurotunnel in Calais, they made good time and were able to catch an earlier than scheduled train.
Unfortunately their homeward journey from Folkestone was beset by delays and took twice as long to complete as it should have done.

Thanks guys!



20 comments:

  1. How wonderful to have some strong backs and willing hands to help with the clearing out. Your attic space looks clean and sorted. I often wish modern houses had usable attics - most here are just small spaces filled with insulation.
    Thanks for hosting MM once again, Maggie.

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  2. WOW! Kudos to your BIL on his athletic achievements. So kind of him and your nephew to come along to help clear things out. The attic space is big.

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  3. What fabulous family - to come and help with all the Autumn chores. Our kids live nearby - 5 minutes and 20 minutes away (and one in West Virginia) so we are able to keep up with chores when they come up the hill to help out. Your progress is amazing, doesn't it feel grand to have everything straight and tidy? Happy week ahead - take some time to relax a bit now.

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  4. Dearest Maggie,
    finally this morning I have a blog post with a mosaic which allows me to take part to your link-up party !

    Thanking you for sharing a so lovely post of yours,
    I'm sending hugs and ever much love to you

    XOXO Daniela at ~ My little old world ~ (Dany)

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  5. Wow!! A job well done. Even Fleur is glad the chaos is over-----for now.
    MB

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  6. Dear Maggie - Good for you that you’ve gotten ready for winter, helped by such nice guys whose faces look made of kindness (which I see in the first photo). The athletic accomplishments of your brother-in-law is extraordinary. I smiled to see the strikethrough “beer”, but I wonder if the drink was non-alcohol beer. I wish I had such a spacious loft like yours.

    Yoko

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  7. How nice to get such great help. I know you are ALL tired after that busy weekend! And congrats to your brother in law....I can't imagine doing all of those races in one year! WOW! He must be in great shape. And how wonderful to earn that much money for a good cause! Happy MM!

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  8. Looks like everyone worked hard for that great result, Maggie! I love attics, especially if they are full of old things. It may be hard work to sort through the junk, but there are also hidden treasures there...

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  9. I am so glad that some of my blog friends have stayed with me. Thanks, Maggie. Looks like you had quite a bit of work to get done and lots of help. We could use some of that help here.

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  10. The loft sure looks nice and tidy now! How wonderful to have the extra help.

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  11. Now you can start filling up the loft again! :-)
    Thanks for hosting, Maggie!

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  12. What a great team - dreams do come true! Thank you Maggie for sharing the progress made in the loft, attic and garden. Thank you too for your 60th Mosaic Monday, a pleasure always to visit others and join in.
    Joy

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  13. Talk about serious wow! Unbelievable. You are the luckiest woman in the world. And look at that attic! Wow. I am so impressed! They must adore you!

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  14. Maggie - I keep re-reading the 54321 - in a YEAR? I have done a few half marathons and watched my husband train for a tri and a marathon, so I have a sense of that accomplishment. Superb! And then, the honey-do list. Aaahhh. Such a delight to jettison those tasks into the stratosphere! Now relax for the rest of the week (at least)!

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  15. Your BIL is quite an athlete. I admire his discipline. Good going! And the job those guys accomplished-I sure wish my strapping young boys and organized daughters would come over and help clear our basement. Much is actually theirs; trophies, baseball card, old ice skates, hockey sticks, camping equipment...the list goes on. They have homes of their own now and little time. One can hope, right?

    Thanks for your visit and sweet comment.

    Take care, Maggie!

    Jane x

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  16. Well,certainly a great example of many hands making light work! Fleur looks beautiful and relaxed in her chair.
    Thanks for hosting.

    Wishing you a happy week Maggie,
    Ruby

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  17. .....and that's a pretty impressive attic space!

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  18. It helps to have a few 'honeys' to complete a honey-do list like that! But really it looks like a great time was had by all. I was too late with my post to link up this week and it will be a while before I can again as we're traveling!! Thanks so much for all you do and I look forward to coming back next month!!

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  19. That is a bummer that you were delayed. it seems like trains are more and more late these days. Glad you had some help with the work.

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  20. They sound like wonderful people. How terrific of them to donate their strength and hard work to helping you declutter. I'm trying to do that but to be honest it's more a matter of finding the resolve to just get rid of stuff, not so much the physical matter of getting down to sorting through it. I think I'm getting there...

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!